UPDATE: The original blog post at this link was about the word study approach to teaching spelling. While the act of sorting words can be useful, I no longer believe that Words Their Way should be a core spelling curriculum because it does not include enough explicit instruction. Stay tuned for a new series about teaching spelling in 2023! ... Read More
Edible sensory play: Ooey gooey worms!
We've been doing a sensory bin for every letter of the alphabet. Letter W gave us so many possibilities: water... water beads... worms! I went with the last option. We put together some pasta and pudding for some edible sensory play. If you've been following my blog, you know that I don't do enough sensory play. And we definitely don't do enough messy sensory play. ... Read More
100 original Sunday School Songs for Kids
Today I'm excited to share a Bible songbook for kids -- it's packed with 100 original songs! We love to sing at our house. It's kind of evident when you step in the door because we have three pianos. When we got married, I had one. My husband had two. Now we have three. But you know what? We don't even need a piano for these songs because they're all set to familiar tunes. The book is Burst into Jubilant ... Read More
11 Crafts for Letter W
11 Crafts for Letter W Paper Plate Watermelon Craft My kids loved this craft from Lil' Miss Smartypants. I gave them each half a paper plate, construction paper squares, and watered down glue. Using a paintbrush they painted glue on their plates and applied the squares. My Four was obsessed with leaving not a single bit of white. I won't pretend I don't know where his perfectionist streak comes from! Water Bead ... Read More
The 5 stages of spelling development
Do you teach spelling? It's important to understand the stages of spelling development. Let's take a look! The 5 Stages of Spelling Development The Emergent Stage (ages 2-5) Children might recognize their alphabet, but they are just starting to write it. Here's a sample from the beginning of the emergent stage. Writing looks the same as drawing. My just-turned-Three draws and scribbles, but he doesn't ... Read More
A Better Way to Teach Spelling
UPDATE: The original blog post at this link was about the word study approach to teaching spelling. While the act of sorting words can be useful, I no longer believe that Words Their Way should be a core spelling curriculum because it does not include enough explicit instruction. Stay tuned for a new series about teaching spelling in 2023! ... Read More
Letter W Printable: W is for Whale
(This post contains affiliate links.) Letter W Printable: W is for Whale Here's a letter W printable for you- W is for whale. Just give your child round office stickers, Do-a-dot markers, or round magnets to complete the page. For many more preschool learning ideas for letter W, click on the image below: Get this and the rest of our dot sticker pages here: Save Save Save Save ... Read More
Rhymes for Letter W: Little Letter W Book
We love rhymes and songs, so these mini-books are a favorite of my just-turned-Three. In this free printable book you'll find six rhymes for letter W. Rhymes for Letter W: Little Letter W Book Here are the rhymes and songs you'll find in this mini-book: W is for Woman There was an old womanWho lived in a shoe.She had so many childrenShe didn’t know what to do.She gave them brothAnd lots of fresh bread.Then kissed ... Read More
Preschool Math Ideas for the letter X
1 - Problem Solving - Tic Tac Toe It doesn't get any simpler than this, but can you believe that I've never played Tic Tac Toe with my Four? This was a great chance to give him practice writing X's while also teaching him some problem solving and strategy. 2 - Patterns - Finish the X Pattern Another super simple activity -- but again, it gets the handwriting and math in there together! If you ... Read More
Learning to write the letter X
My Three and Four are learning to write the letter X: today we found 13 different ways to make the letter! The letter X is a simple letter to make with manipulatives because you just need two straight pieces. My just-turned-Three made an X in a number of different ways: with rulers... with chopsticks... with flatware... and with Q-tips. He had fun using office stickers to complete this Letter X Dot ... Read More